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Driefontein mine

30th May 2014

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Name: Driefontein mine.

Location: Driefontein is located about 80 km west of Johannesburg, near the town of Carletonville, in Gauteng, South Africa.

Controlling Company: Sibanye Gold.

Brief History: In September 1999, West Driefontein and East Driefontein amalgamated, pooling their resources to form the Driefontein gold mine. Gold Fields gained control of the mine after buying AngloGold Ashanti’s 21.5% shareholding. Gold Fields held a 100% interest in GFI Mining South Africa, which, in turn, held a 100% interest in Driefontein. Driefontein successfully converted its old-order mining right to a new-order mining right in 2006. In 2009, the No 9 Shaft deepening project and No 7 Shaft were suspended. A year later, the No 5 Shaft decline-option prefeasibility study replaced the No 9 Shaft project, and the Kloof and Driefontein mines were combined to create the Kloof/Driefontein Complex. In 2011, the tailings storage facilities prefeasibility study and trial mining were initiated. In 2012, Sibanye Gold was unbundled from Gold Fields. Subsequent to the unbundling, the Driefontein and Kloof segments have been managed separately.

Brief Description: Driefontein is a large, well-established shallow to ultradeep-level gold mine, with workings that are accessed through seven shaft systems that mine at depths of between 600 m and 3 300 m below surface.

Geology/Mineralisation: Driefontein is located in the far West Rand goldfield (West Wits line), on the north-western rim of the geologically unique and renowned Witwatersrand basin. The West Wits line is divided into an eastern and western section, which are separated by the bank break and associated faulting. The Driefontein mining right is located in the western section, which is dominated by the Driefontein syncline. The eastern limb of the syncline dips in a southerly to south-westerly direction and the western limb in an easterly to south-easterly direction. The faulting in the area is characterised by easterly strike-slip faults, with horizontal displacements of up to 450 m. These faults can be correlated across the bank anticline into the Kloof gold mine.

Reserves: Total mineral reserves as at December 31, 2013, were 32-million tons grading 5.9 g/t of gold.

Resources: Total mineral resources as at December 31, 2013, were 66.6-million tons grading 9.9 g/t of gold.

Products: Gold.

Mining Method: The Driefontein mine is engaged in deep-level, high-grade underground mining and low-grade, surface rock dump mining.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Driefontein’s shaft systems include five subvertical shafts and two tertiary shafts. Underground ore and low-grade surface stockpiles are processed at three metallurgical plants, with a combined mill throughput capacity of about 6.7-million tonnes a year.

Prospects: None stated.

Contact Person: Sibanye Gold head of corporate affairs James Wellstead.

Contact Details:
Sibanye Gold,
tel +27 11 278 9600,
fax +27 11 278 9863,
email james.wellsted@sibanyegold.co.za, and
website http://www.sibanyegold.co.za.

Edited by Samantha Herbst
Creamer Media Deputy Editor

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